Jackelyn Severin.
Much of the magic that is public media arises because the public is central to the stories we tell. South Dakota Public Broadcasting belongs to everyone. That’s why SDPB’s new studios in Rapid City and Sioux Falls Chuck Parkinson. are centered around public spaces – communal spheres where we can come together to acquire knowledge and build relationships with our neighbors. Whether we gather to screen a documentary, enjoy live jazz, or discuss Lakota heritage and settler history, our shared learning experiences are what is known in public media parlance as community engagement—essentially living, breathing extensions of SDPB’s mission to help every South Dakotan learn, dream and grow. Two new SDPB programs debuted this year that bring South Dakotans together to discuss issues and opportunities in our home state. This month, meet the hosts at the helms.
Where Do We Go from Here
with Chuck Parkinson & Suzanne Stratford Between them, Rapid City husband and wife Chuck Parkinson and Suzanne Stratford hold over 50 years of experience working in Washington, D.C.’s political realm. Parkinson, originally from Kadoka, served on Congressman and Senator Jim Abnor’s staff and on the professional staffs of the House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations and Veterans 4
Learn. Dream. Grow.
Affairs and the Senate Committee on Appropriations. He was also Associate Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service under Presidents Reagan and Bush. Stratford’s background includes working in international development, economics and trade policy in D.C. She also worked as a recruiter and trainer in South Dakota for the 2010 Census and puts on mindfulness training classes that incorporate horseback riding. Parkinson and Stratford relocated to the Black Hills in 2006, bringing with them their commitment to public service. “Tip O’Neill, a Massachusetts congressman who became Speaker of the House, always used to say all politics is local,” says Parkinson. “The more I was involved in the political world, basically my entire adult life, I came to grasp that
all politics are personal.” With the 2017 opening of SDPB’s Black Hills Studio, Larry Rohrer, SDPB’s Director of Content, approached Parkinson and Stratford about applying their work and life experience to create a communityoriented discussion program in the new space. “There are things that need to be done to talk about civility and civil discourse,” says Parkinson. “And we know where we are right now, but what steps do we need to move forward?” So was born the program’s title. While Where Do We Go from Here is simultaneously webcast and rebroadcast on SDPB.org, the in-studio audience is integral to the
